Multicounty power outage planned for Saturday

Lohr McKinstry, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
·3 min read

Dec. 7—MORIAH — More than 10,000 National Grid customers will be without power Saturday as the utility replaces what it says is critical infrastructure equipment.

The forced blackout will stretch from Whitehall in Washington County through Hague in Warren County to Ticonderoga and Moriah in Essex County starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending around 4:30 p.m.

THE NEED FOR REPAIR

"We understand the inconvenience of an outage of this length at this time of year," said Matt Barnett, National Grid vice president of Electric Operations, in a news release.

"The need for this repair came to light during the extensive reliability work we are completing on this transmission line. We are grateful to our customer and local officials who have provided feedback for consideration when determining when our crews can safely complete this work."

Forty to 50 National Grid and subcontractor Northline Utilities of AuSable Forks workers are expected to be involved in Saturday's upgrade. National Grid is in the final phase of a multi-million dollar project replacing and upgrading 115kV transmission towers stretching 40 miles from Whitehall through Ticonderoga and ending in Moriah. The project has taken about two and a half years.

Moriah Town Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said he and other officials worked with National Grid to try to schedule the outage when it would have the least impact.

"The reason for a weekend is to try to ease the impact on business and the schools," Scozzafava said. "It's a repair that needs to be done."

WARMING STATIONS

He said the Essex County Office for the Aging will be contacting people who might need help during the blackout.

"If anyone is aware of someone that we need to check on, let us know at the Town Hall, 518 546-8631 or 518 546-3341."

Warming stations will be available on Saturday from at least noon until the outage has ended:

—Crown Point Town Hall, 17 Monitor Bay Road #1, Crown Point.

—Hague Fire Department, 4 W. Hague Road, Hague.

—Mineville-Witherbee Volunteer Fire Department, 112 Raymond Wright Ave., Mineville.

—Moriah Town Hall, 38 Park Place, Suite 1, Port Henry.

—Moriah Volunteer Fire Department, 360 Tarbell Hill Road, Moriah, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

—Ticonderoga Community Building, 132 Montcalm St., Ticonderoga, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

—Westport Town Hall, 22 Champlain Ave., Westport.

The transmission line being upgraded runs across rough terrain and serves communities including Chilson, Clemons, Crown Point, Dresden, Hague, Huletts Landing, Mineville, Moriah, Putnam Station, Silver Bay, Ticonderoga and Westport, Barnett said.

He said over the last two years, National Grid has replaced more than 200 transmission structures and more than two miles of conductor along the line to improve service to customers in the region.

"This upgrade work will increase resiliency and reliability," Barnett said. "The work requires many skilled line and construction workers who are committed to the safe, reliable delivery of energy to our Ticonderoga area customers."

LIFE SUPPORT NEEDS

Ticonderoga Town Supervisor Mark Wright said Sunday was considered for the outage but the rainy weather forecast made it unlikely.

"We want the work done quickly, efficiently, and most importantly safely for those crews," Wright said in a release. "When all factors were reviewed and considered, Saturday came out as the most logical and safe choice to accomplish the (those) goals."

Power customers who depend on electrically powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should contact National Grid at 1-800-642-4272 for information on requesting designation as a life support customer.